A radio connection between a mobile station and a base station may use, for example, frequency division duplexing (FDD) or time division duplexing (TDD). When FDD is used, the uplink (communications from the mobile station to the network) and the downlink (communications from the network to the mobile station) may use different frequencies. When TDD is used, the uplink and downlink may use the same frequency, but the uplink and downlink communications may occur at different times.
The frequencies used for uplink and downlink communications in FDD and TDD radio connections may conform to various standards. For example, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) has published technical specifications on “Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA); User Equipment (UE) radio transmission and reception” (E-UTRA standards), which define various frequency bands for FDD and TDD communication using Long Term Evolution (LTE) protocols. A recent version of the E-UTRA standards, ETSI TS 136 101 V11.5.0 (2013 July), is incorporated herein by reference. That version defines E-UTRA Bands 1-44, with each band including a specified range of frequencies.
In some instances, a mobile station may be configured for wireless communication in a plurality of frequency bands. In that case, the frequency band that the mobile station uses may depend on the frequency band or frequency bands supported by the base station that is currently serving the mobile station. Thus, when both the mobile station and base station are configured for wireless communication in a plurality of frequency bands, a radio connection between the mobile station and base station may be established using one of the frequency bands for both the uplink and the downlink.